When I first read the news about the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, I simply thought the site I was surfing was outdated or something. It was not. On Wednesday 27 April, 2011, and to my surprise, the two major Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, agreed on a reconciliation deal after secret meetings were held between the two groups. I felt shocked, happy and, of course, scared. “They’ve done this many times, but they never pulled if off,” everyone started to say. People were happy, though. I was happy.
I almost forgot about the match.. yeaaa.. the MATCH!
Most of the Gazans like to watch football games. I can never blame my people for “liking” to watch football. I simply can’t. Football seems to be one of the very few refuges the besieged Gazans resort to when they need a break (In case you’re not following: a break from being oppressed, shelled, murdered, injured.. every single day). Still, you can never tell how safe a refuge football is. You can get shot—while watching a football game.
A few hours after we knew of the reconciliation, there was this football game between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two most famous Spanish teams. I’m not really interested in football, but I had to show some excitement as everyone (At that moment, it seemed to me that all Gazans were fans of Barcelona) was shouting and celebrating the 2 goals Barcelona scored. Yeah, Barcelona won the game.
Some streets got crowded, and people, say kids and young men, rushed to the streets yelling and screaming and shooting in the air (Yea shooting; we cannot help it). I couldn’t actually tell whether they were shouting because of the reconciliation or because of the match. They were shouting anyway. They were happy. I was happy.
Today, and because I am happy, I repeat the cliché which I’ve always loved, “We are all brothers.” Today I tell Fatah and Hamas, “Please, work it out.” Today I beg them, “Don’t disappoint us this time.”
Today I say, “Congratulations, Barcelona!”
crossposted @ Here We Are “I didn’t ask to be Palestinian; I just got lucky.”
